Design and Fabrication of X-Band Air-Cooled, Compact, and Lightweight Active Electronically Scanned Array Antenna Unit for Aircraft Installation

To apply active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars to aircraft, such as light attack aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and drones, a radar system designed with a compact and lightweight AESA antenna device and an air-cooled heat dissipation structure is required. This paper presents the design and fabrication results of the first domestic X-band air-cooled, compact, and lightweight active phased array antenna device for aircraft. To dissipate heat from the AESA antenna unit by air cooling, a heat dissipation fin was applied to the transmit–receive module, the main heat source, and the thermal stability was confirmed through thermal analysis and testing. The effective isotropic radiated power of the AESA antenna unit was over 00.00 dBmi, its gain-to-noise temperature ratio was over 0.00 dB/k, and wide-angle scanning was possible up to ±70°.